THE PRESIDENCY by HUGH SIDEY: Some Lessons to Be Learned

THERE has been a
liberation of sorts in Washington.
The White House cops smile and sometimes even give a "Good morning."
Calls to obscure aides, which used to disappear into nothingness, are
sometimes returned. You can get a White House staff member to admit
that President Nixon may have made a mistake.

The federal bureaucracy and even the Congress feel, at least for the
time being, a certain release from political fear. The instrument of
oppression has been dismantled. Its size and pervasiveness were sensed
but could never be accurately documented until...